Protect youth from e-cigs

South Bend (Ind.) Tribune: For all the unknowns about electronic cigarettes, one thing’s for sure: Companies are trying their darnedest to hook the younger generation on them.

It certainly appears that their efforts -- which include offering such flavors as bubble gum and chocolate chip cookie dough -- are paying off. A recent report by the National Institutes of Health says that e-cigarettes have surpassed traditional smoking in popularity among teens. The good news: Tobacco smoking by teens has dropped to new lows. Not so good: The use of e-cigs reached levels that came as a surprise to researchers. Nearly 9 percent of eighth-graders, 16 percent of 10th-graders and 17 percent of seniors said they’d tried an e-cigarette in the previous month. Between 4 percent and 7 percent of students who tried e-cigs said they’d never smoked a tobacco cigarette.

The report comes even as questions about the safety of e-cigs -- which produce a vapor infused with nicotine but without the same tar and chemicals in tobacco cigarettes -- remain unanswered.

Welcome news

This is why a bill proposing to place restrictions on youth use of e-cigarettes is welcome news. State Rep. Ed Clere, R-New Albany, says his bill would require stores to have a license to sell the battery-powered devices and would tax them like tobacco products.

The bill also would add e-cigarettes to the state’s smoking ban and would require child-resistant packaging for the containers holding the nicotine-infused liquid that is vaporized.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported last month that 10 states permit the sale of e-cigarettes to minors. Indiana law prohibits such sales, but more can be done to protect youth. Clere’s bill is a good start.